Karzai's Corruption Costing U.S. Thousands Of Soldiers' Lives & Billions In Foreign Aid (Time To Leave!)

Via a Mandatory Draft I want EVERY Federal Gov't Official including Congress Members & Pentagon Officials, to immediately allow their Adult Sons & Daughters to fight in the Afghan War to help Defend Karzai's (Afghan President) Corrupt Government, then tell me its "Wise Foreign Policy" for U.S. Troops to remain in that region of the world.







Intractable Afghan Graft Hampering U.S. Strategy


For the past few months, possibly the most intriguing poker game in Kabul has been taking place in the sprawling pink sitting room of the man at the center of one of the most public corruption scandals in the world, the near collapse of Kabul Bank.

The players include people tied to President Hamid Karzai’s inner circle, many of whom have profited from the crony capitalism that has come to define Afghanistan’s economic order, and nearly brought down Kabul Bank. The game’s stakes “aren’t too big — a few thousand dollars up or down,” one of the participants said.

Betting thousands of dollars a night in a country where most families live off a few hundred dollars a year would seem like a bad play for Sherkhan Farnood, the founder and former chairman of Kabul Bank, the country’s biggest. His assets are supposed to be frozen, and he is still facing the threat of prosecution over a scandal that could end up costing the Afghan government — and, by extension, the Western countries that pay most of its expenses — almost $900 million, a sum that nearly equals the government’s total annual revenues.

But Mr. Farnood, who in 2008 won about $143,000 at a World Series of Poker event in Europe, appears to know a good wager when he sees one. Despite years of urging and oversight by American advisers, Mr. Karzai’s government has yet to prosecute a high-level corruption case. And now many American officials say that they have little expectation that Mr. Farnood’s case will prove to be the exception — or that Washington will try to do much about it, especially after violent anti-American protests in recent weeks have sowed fresh doubts in the Obama administration over the viability of the mission in Afghanistan.

As Americans pull back from Afghanistan, Mr. Farnood’s case exemplifies how the United States is leaving behind a problem it underwrote over the past decade with tens of billions of dollars of aid and logistical support: a narrow business and political elite defined by its corruption, and despised by most Afghans for it.

The Americans and Afghans blame each other for the problem’s seeming intractability, contributing to the deterioration in relations that now threatens to scuttle talks on the shape of ties between the countries after the NATO combat mission ends in 2014. What is clear is that the pervasive graft has badly undercut the American war strategy, which hinged on building the Karzai administration into a credible alternative to the Taliban.

Still, the Obama administration has concluded that pressing the fight against corruption, as many American officials tried to do in recent years, could further alienate Mr. Karzai and others around him whom Washington is relying on as it tries to manage a graceful drawdown.



“It’s a little late in the game to worry about anticorruption measures because what in the world is the alternative going to be?” said Anthony H. Cordesman, a military analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “If you find people who aren’t corrupt, it is largely because they haven’t had the opportunity.”

Some of the corruption will fade organically, as America and its allies cut back on their aid to Afghanistan, which is likely to have a harsh impact on the Afghan economy, Mr. Cordesman said. Efforts by the American-led coalition to better monitor the billions it spends each year in Afghanistan continue and are having an effect, although it remains slight largely because billions of dollars keep pouring in and are likely to do so for years to come.

The limits of the coalition’s efforts to police its own spending — and the newfound reluctance of top American officials to push back against Afghan intransigence over prosecuting corruption — were laid bare in December when Mr. Karzai’s office demanded that the coalition provide evidence if it wanted the government to prosecute the Afghan Army’s former surgeon general, Gen. Ahmad Zia Yaftali.

Coalition officials had in fact provided the evidence a full year earlier. General Yaftali was suspended in December 2010 after Gen. David H. Petraeus, then the coalition commander, told Mr. Karzai that NATO investigators had found that the Afghan officer had stolen tens of millions of dollars’ worth of drugs from the country’s main military hospital, an institution he ran and where Afghan soldiers regularly died from simple infections because they could not afford to bribe nurses or doctors to treat them.

The running of the hospital, like much of the Afghan Army, is financed by the United States, which last year spent $11.2 billion to pay, train and equip Afghanistan’s security force.

But after the suspension of the politically connected general, the investigation into his conduct remained in limbo — until Mr. Karzai on Dec. 29 unexpectedly demanded to see the evidence he had already seen.

The American officer in charge of the inquiry, Brig. Gen. H. R. McMaster, was furious. The investigation of General Yaftali and the Dawood Military Hospital was one of the major initiatives undertaken by General McMaster’s task force, a high-profile coalition effort set up in 2010 to go after corruption that was being financed by coalition spending. Now it appeared as if an officer who was accused of letting his own soldiers die so he could enrich himself would never be tried.

General McMaster and his staff quickly pulled together their evidence and wrote a statement to counter Mr. Karzai’s demand. Their draft, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, struck both accusatory and conciliatory notes.

It bluntly stated that the coalition had provided the evidence Mr. Karzai was now demanding. It said efforts to investigate had been met with “interference, obstruction, and delay.” It quoted a pledge Mr. Karzai had made in December at an international conference in Germany to end a “culture of impunity.”

The statement was never released. According to two NATO officials, the commander of coalition forces, Gen. John R. Allen, decided there was little to gain in picking a fight with Mr. Karzai over the matter.

A senior coalition officer who is involved with the case said he believed that it would eventually proceed. NATO is focused on preparing Afghan forces to take over the fight against the Taliban, and will continue to try to clamp down on corruption that undermines that goal, the officer said.

The American officials tracking the bank investigation seem similarly uninterested in challenging Afghan authorities over the status of Mr. Farnood and his former partner, Khalilullah Frozi.

Under pressure from the United States and its allies, Afghan authorities arrested both men in June. Kabul Bank was taken over nearly 10 months earlier amid accusations that its owners used it as their personal piggy bank.

Mr. Farnood spent more than $150 million of the bank’s money on villas in Dubai purchased in his own name. Kabul Bank money helped finance shell companies whose main function was to win subcontracts from businesses doing work for the American-led coalition, siphon a slice of the money and then find other subcontractors to do the actual work, American officials have said. Mahmoud Karzai, a brother of the Afghan president, and Abdul Haseen Fahim, a brother of the first vice president, Gen. Muhammad Qasim Fahim, both received interest-free loans so they could buy stakes in the bank.

News of the takeover prompted a run on the bank that almost led to its collapse. Afghanistan’s central bank spent nearly $900 million to keep it afloat, an outlay that the Afghan government, already short of cash, has since had to cover. While some of that money is likely to be recovered, some Western officials concede that donor funds will eventually be needed to close the hole in the Afghan budget, even if Western dollars do not go directly to cover Kabul Bank’s losses.

Deputy Attorney General Rahmatullah Nazari said the authorities this past fall gave permission to let Mr. Farnood and Mr. Frozi out of prison during the daytime so they could help recover assets owed to the bank. Mr. Farnood owes the bank $467 million, he said; Mr. Frozi owes $78 million.

Mr. Frozi has been helpful in tracking down missing assets; Mr. Farnood less so, Mr. Nazari said, although some Western officials disputed that characterization and said it was Mr. Farnood who was being more helpful.

But it is unclear how hard the Afghan government is pushing either man. The villas and a pair of partly constructed office towers in Dubai are still in Mr. Farnood’s name, and Mr. Nazari said the transfer of the property was being held up by a 2 percent tax that the United Arab Emirates levy on such deals. Some Western officials questioned why a routine tax would hold up such an important transaction.

Meanwhile, Mr. Farnood is collecting rent from tenants in some of the villas, Mr. Nazari said.

But, Mr. Nazari insisted, both will be prosecuted once the asset recovery has been completed.

American, European and even some Afghan officials say they doubt that will happen. Despite Mr. Nazari’s claim that both spend their nights in prison, the two have rented separate houses in Kabul and rarely, if ever, return to their cells, said people close to the men.

Mr. Farnood’s spacious house stands behind high walls in Kabul’s most expensive neighborhood, around the corner from the office of the International Monetary Fund, which is overseeing a forensic audit of Kabul Bank.

A pool table, a table for table tennis, a large Samsung flat-screen television and a set of purple faux-leather couches and arm chairs grace the cavernous pink sitting room. A pair of late-model black Toyota Land Cruisers sit in the driveway. The officer from Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security, the country’s intelligence agency, who mans the front door functions more like a doorman than a guard.

Mr. Farnood lunches regularly at the Kabul Serena Hotel, where the buffet costs about $25 a head. Mr. Frozi has his own spot, Boccaccio, an upscale Italian eatery popular with well-heeled Afghans and foreigners, including American and European diplomats.

Lunching there on afternoon last month with four other men, Mr. Frozi declined to talk to a reporter. He said the American press had “destroyed the bank,” and he dismissed his questioner with a wave of his hand.


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Sources: CBS News, CNN, Fox News, US Navy Seals.com, US State Dept., Wikipedia, Google Maps

Antonio Ezequiel Cardenas Guillen's Death Angers Cartel; Sparks Retaliation

Gunfire Exchanged Near U.S.-Mexico Border After Cartel Leader Is Killed

Gunman and security forces exchanged fire near the U.S.-Mexico border Saturday, one day after a top leader of the Gulf drug cartel was killed, the Mexican state news agency reported.

Authorities in Reynosa, which is across the border from McAllen, Texas, were telling people to avoid road travel, Notimex reported. It also warned of shootouts between gunman and security forces there.

The trouble came one day after Antonio Ezequiel Cardenas Guillen, known as "Tony Tormenta" or "Tony the Storm," was killed in Matamoros, a city to the east of Reynosa.

Cardenas, 48, was a top leader of one of Mexico's major drug-trafficking operations, and the U.S. State Department had been offering a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture.

Saturday, U.S. President Barack Obama called his counterpart in Mexico to express his support for Felipe Calderon's efforts to "end the impunity of organized criminal groups," the White House said in a statement. Obama also reportedly offered his condolences on the death of the Mexican officials who died during the operation.

Naval troops were met with grenades and assault-weapon fire when they approached Cardenas' hideout in the center of the city around 3:30 p.m. Friday (5:30 p.m. ET), the Mexican navy said.

Four other suspected members of the cartel were also killed in the operation, which ended about 5:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. ET) the navy said. Three naval officers were killed and four others were injured, authorities said.

"Today was another significant step in the destruction of criminal organizations that have done so much to damage the people of this country," said Alejandro Poire, security spokesman for the Mexican government, soon after Friday's clash.

The Gulf cartel is one of Mexico's major drug-trafficking organizations. It is based in Matamoros, which is across the border from Brownsville, Texas. It is also strong in Reynosa.

Both cities are located in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, which has become a bloody battleground between the Zetas and the Gulf Cartel. The Zetas used to be the armed branch of the Gulf Cartel but split off into a separate drug-trafficking organization earlier this year.

Cardenas allegedly began his drug trafficking career during the late 1980s, rose through the ranks of the Gulf cartel and was eventually given control over the Matamoros-Brownsville corridor, the U.S. State Department said. In that role, he has been responsible for shipments of marijuana and cocaine across the border, according to the State Department.

He has been indicted several times by U.S. federal authorities for alleged drug trafficking crimes, including directing drug shipments by boats, planes and cars from Colombia and Venezuela to Guatemala, Mexico and Texas, according to a statement from the U.S. Justice Department last year.

Friday's operation came after more than six months of intelligence gathering, the Mexican navy said. The four others suspected cartel members killed Friday were "part of the circle of protection closest to 'Tony Tormenta,'" the navy said.

The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College canceled classes through Saturday and said it would rework several weekend events "because of gunfire taking place across the Rio Grande."

Most of the students and faculty members have gone home, said Letty Fernandez, a university spokeswoman. The campus is about half a mile from the U.S.-Mexico border.

More than 28,000 people have died in drug-related violence since Calderon intensified the government's fight against cartels and organized crime after taking office in 2006, according to government figures.

Authorities have scored a string of important wins against drug cartels recently.

In September, officials arrested Sergio Villarreal, known to Mexican officials as "El Grande," an alleged top leader of the Beltran Leyva cartel. His capture came soon after the August arrest of American-born "La Barbie," or Edgar Valdez, thought to be one of Mexico's most ruthless drug traffickers.




Mexico Drug Lord Death May Aid Zeta Cartel's Rise


Rival gunmen blocked roads near the U.S. border and strung up threatening banners on Saturday after marines killed one of Mexico's top kingpins, and Washington reaffirmed its support for the country's drug war.

Gunmen used buses and trucks to block roads in Reynosa, a Gulf cartel stronghold across the border from McAllen, Texas, and west of Matamoros, where marines on Friday shot dead gang leader Ezequiel "Tony Tormenta" Cardenas, or "Tony the Storm."

In an apparent riposte from rivals, gunmen from the Zetas gang hung messages between trees and over bridges in Reynosa and in cities across northeastern Tamaulipas state, mocking Cardenas' death. "Once again, the Gulf traitors' destiny is evident ... there's no place for them, not even in hell," read one banner that was signed, "Sincerely, the Zetas Unit."

The signs, quickly taken down by authorities, reinforced fears that the death of alleged Cardenas will further empower the Zetas, a gang of hit men formed more than a decade ago by renegade Mexican soldiers. It has become one of Mexico's most brutal and feared drug gangs.

Former allies of the Gulf cartel, the Zetas went independent earlier this year, unleashing a turf battle along the northeastern border with the United States that has at times reached the level of all-out war.

Support From U.S.

President Barack Obama called Mexican leader Felipe Calderon on Saturday "to reaffirm United States support for Mexico's efforts to end the impunity of organized criminal groups," the White House said in a statement. Obama also expressed his condolences for the Mexican troops and the reporter killed in the shootouts, according to a White House statement.

More than 31,000 people have been killed across Mexico since December 2006, when Calderon took office and launched his cartel crackdown. The government is under increasing pressure to contain the burgeoning death toll.

Soldiers and federal police across the region quickly broke up the roadblocks in Reynosa and took down the banners. But many residents were still wary of revenge attacks.

Veracruz Public Safety Secretary Sergio Lopez said authorities were not yet sure who put up the poorly written and obscure messages, and could not confirm that they were a reaction to the death of Cardenas Guillen.

Francisco Alor, the attorney general of the Caribbean state of Quintana Roo, said several banners appeared in the resort city of Cancun and he expressed concern that violence in the region could spike.

"We have to prevent any surge (in violence) that the others could generate as they move to control territory amid the power vacuum," Alor told The Associated Press, referring to the Zetas.

Fighting broke out between gunmen and soldiers in Reynosa, and two assailants died on Saturday, newspaper El Norte said.

Some people ventured out on the streets of Matamoros on Saturday, walking past buildings with fresh bullet holes from Friday's gunfights. But the U.S. consulate was closed and its weekend visa services were postponed until further notice.

The Matamoros newspaper El Expreso said on its website that reporter Carlos Guajardo was killed covering one of the shootouts. Local news media reported Guajardo was leaving the area of the clash when his car was hit by gunfire more than 20 times.

Tamaulipas has witnessed some of Mexico's most shocking drug war violence this year, including the murder of a popular gubernatorial candidate — Mexico's highest-level political murder in 16 years — the massacre of 72 migrant workers, bombs hidden in cars and slain youths strung from bridges.

"It's a huge relief to know that Tony Tormenta has been eliminated, his gangsters were everywhere. But we're still worried because they'll find another boss, and who knows what the Zetas will do," said a supermarket worker in Reynosa who gave his name as Oscar.

Another Mayor Slain

Underscoring the widespread nature of the violence, the mayor of a town in the northwestern state of Durango was beaten to death by masked gunmen on Friday, state prosecutors said.

San Bernardo Mayor Jaime Lozoya, who had just taken office and was driving along a highway with aides and his daughter when he was attacked, was one of at least 18 mayors killed in Mexico since 2008. His predecessor fled the town last year after receiving threats from drug gangs.

Gulf kingpin Cardenas' was the fourth top drug baron to be killed or captured in Mexico since December of last year in a string of coups for Calderon's army-led drug war. But beheadings, shootouts and the deaths of innocent bystanders have overshadowed those successes as the war rages.

Cardenas, 48, was the brother of former Gulf cartel leader Osiel Cardenas, who was extradited to Texas in 2007. Known as "Tony Tormenta" or Tony Storm, he had a $5 million bounty on his head in the United States and ran the gang with Jorge Eduardo Costilla, known as "El Coss," who is still at large.

The Gulf cartel, which also has cells across the United States, is pitted against the Zetas across northeastern Mexico. That violence has spread to Mexico's richest city Monterrey, killing an unprecedented 720 people in and around the industrial hub near the Texan border, worrying Washington and investors with factories exporting to the United States.

Zetas Ascending

Drug war experts warned that the Zetas will strengthen as the Gulf cartel weakens.

"Yes, it's another major blow to the one of the most significant Mexican drug cartels," Gary Hale, who retired this year as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and founded the Grupo Savant consulting firm, said of Cardenas Guillen's death.

"But it also bodes an ominous future for the war-weary civilians living in the northeastern part of Mexico," he said in an analysis sent to AP. "The ensuing chaos brought on by the loss of Gulf Cartel leadership will give operational, political and psychological strength to the Zetas."

Even before their split from the Gulf cartel, the Zetas started growing into a powerful gang in their own right. Their reach extends into Central America, where authorities have dismantled Zetas training camps, and their illegal activity ranges from drug trafficking to migrant smuggling, kidnapping and extortion.

Hale warned that the Zetas, in their push to assert dominance over northeastern Mexico, are likely to increase "their traditional organized crime activities such as extortion of businesses of all sorts, kidnappings for ransom, an increase in taxation ... for drugs crossing into the U.S. from Mexico."


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Sources: CNN, Google Maps

David Hartley's Killer On Mexican Cartel Hit List: Los Zetas

American's Suspected Shooting Death Brings Scrutiny To Mexican Cartel

The suspected shooting death of an American by gunmen linked to a Mexican drug cartel has brought unwanted attention to a cartel known as Los Zetas and may have resulted in a death sentence for the killers, security experts said.

"It's more likely than not that more senior people in the organization are unhappy about what happened here because this brings pressure from the United States and Mexican authorities," Robert Chesney, a terrorism and national security expert at the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, told CNN on Friday.

"Let's face it," he added, "none of these cartels have any strategic interest in bringing more attention to their operations. That cannot be good for them. If anything, they are going to try to avoid situations like this."

Howard Campbell, University of Texas at El Paso professor and author of "Drug War Zone," said the suspected killing is most likely the work of cartel-connected young thugs -- and a grievous mistake.

"There are reports that recently the Zetas have become a bit desperate and have been using ill-trained, reckless teenagers which can lead to mistakes of this kind," he told CNN in an e-mail Friday. "The leaders of Mexican drug cartels try to minimize attacks on Americans because they know this would bring pressure on their organizations."

Tiffany Hartley, the wife of David Hartley, has told authorities that Mexican pirates shot and killed her husband September 30 on Falcon Lake, a popular fishing destination that straddles the U.S.-Mexico border.

In comments that aired Thursday on CNN's "American Morning," Hartley said that she met with Rolando Armando Flores Villegas, the lead Mexican investigator in her husband's case, days before the police officer was killed and his severed head delivered to authorities in a suitcase.

"I met him. He sat right next to me," Hartley said.

Zapata County, Texas, Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez, whose news conferences have drawn national attention to the case over the past two weeks, said Hartley's suspected killers may be already dead.

"In a case like this, I also understand that they do their own justice to their own people," he told CNN's "American Morning" on Thursday, referring to cartel members.

Gonzalez has said that Los Zetas are known to control the Mexican territory that encompasses part of the lake.

Fred Burton, vice president of counterterrorism and corporate security at Statfor, told CNN's Anderson Cooper that the media attention the killing has generated has been costly to the cartel.

"The warlord that controls this area, Miguel Treviño [a Los Zetas commander], he's going to find the killers and you'll never see them again," Burton said.

Stratfor, an Austin-based think tank that focuses on drug cartels, the border and security issues, issued a report Thursday that linked Hartley's presumed killing to Los Zetas. The report concluded that Hartley may have been killed because gunmen mistook him for a scout from the rival Gulf cartel.

"It's our understanding this was not a sanctioned killing, which raises concern within the organization because this kind of notoriety is bad for business. This is a disruption to their supply chain and they exist to make money," Burton said.

Los Zetas used to be the enforcement arm for the Gulf cartel, but they split off and formed their own cartel, experts said. The two groups are battling for turf on the Mexican side of Falcon Lake. Burton said Los Zetas are known for their brutality.

"They were actually hired by the Gulf cartel to be the enforcers, the bodyguards, the protectors of the Gulf," Burton said. "They broke off on their own. They're a standalone cartel now. They are extraordinarily violent."

Beheadings have become their calling card.

"Their signature is the chopping off of the heads," Burton said. "They have a tremendous reputation on the streets as being an organization that you don't mess with."

Chesney, the University of Texas law school professor, said that if a lower-level drug cartel member killed Hartley, it highlights problems that big criminal organizations face and offers ways these groups can be infiltrated. It also shows what happens in huge operations in general, he said.

"This might be a great example of the difficulties of controlling people down the line when you're operating a somewhat decentralized organization. In that sense this may be not unlike the challenges any big corporations face," Chesney said.

"How can you keep people in line? Those problems are by definition worse in a violent criminal organization, and Los Zetas surely qualifies as one."







Investigator In Missing Jet Skier Case Beheaded


A Mexican police commander investigating the disappearance of an American tourist on a border lake plagued by pirates was killed, U.S. and Mexican officials said Tuesday. The San Antonio Express-News is reporting that Rolando Flores' head was delivered to the Mexican military in a suitcase.

Flores, the commander of state investigators in Ciudad Miguel Aleman who was part of a group investigating the reported shooting of David Hartley, was killed, said Ruben Rios, spokesman for the Tamaulipas state prosecutor's office.

U.S. officials have said threats from drug gangs who control the area around Falcon Lake have hampered the search for Hartley.

Hartley's wife, Tiffany, says she and her husband were attacked by pirates on the lake on Sept. 30, while they were returning to the United States from Mexico on Jet Skis. Hartley was shot and presumably fell into the lake.

Lesley Lopez, a spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, who has been involved in the investigation, said U.S. authorities were "slightly concerned that it was someone who was working as a U.S. ally on this case."

U.S. officials, particularly Texas Gov. Rick Perry, and Hartley's family have been pressuring Mexico to step up the search for Hartley and determine what happened.

Fred Garza, chief deputy sheriff in Webb County, on the Texas-Mexico border, said the search was continuing Tuesday.

Perry was expected to comment later Tuesday.

Falcon Lake is a dammed section of the Rio Grande, 25 miles long and 3 miles across. Pirates have robbed boaters and fisherman on the Mexican side, prompting warnings to Americans by Texas state officials, but Hartley's death would mark the first violent fatality on the lake.

Tiffany Hartley said men on three speedboats fired on her and her husband as they were riding Jet Skis back from a trip to Tamaulipas to photograph a half-submerged church, and that her husband was shot in the head. She said she tried to retrieve his body and his Jet Ski but the pirates continued firing and she fled to the U.S. side. Zapata County, Texas, Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez has said he has an eyewitness who corroborates her account.

Dennis Hartley, David Hartley's father, expressed shock and regret at Flores' killing.

"I just, I'm in shock about this right now," he told The Associated Press from his Colorado home. "I really don't have any hope that David will be found. I really hate other people putting their lives at stake. We don't need more sons lost. If this is true, I'm just really heart broken that this happened."

The Mexican Foreign Ministry says it has been using federal, state and local resources, including the military and helicopters, to search for Hartley's body and opened an investigation. Over the weekend, authorities named two possible suspects.

That part of Tamaulipas state is overrun by violence from a turf battle between the Gulf Cartel and the Zeta drug gang, made up of former Mexican special forces soldiers, and both are battling the Mexican military.

Last week, Perry said he expected Mexican President Felipe Calderon to call him within 48 hours to report a body had been found and that even the threat of drug gang violence against search crews was no reason to halt the efforts.









New Blood Evidence Found In Lake Pirate Attack


Zapata County's sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez has told CBS News he has blood evidence from the lifevest of Tiffany Hartley, the wife of David Hartley, that supports her account of a pirate attack on a lake that straddles the Texas-Mexico border.

CBS News correspondent Don Teague reported on "The Early Show" this evidence is in addition to witness testimony that supports Tiffany Hartley's story that her husband was shot in the head by pirates on Mexico side of Falcon Lake.

David Hartley is presumed dead, and officials on both the U.S. and Mexican sides of the lake are searching for his body.

Gonzalez told Teague he believes the Hartleys were attacked by enforcers of the Zeta drug cartel. The Hartleys, Gonzalez says, were innocent victims of a bloody drug war.

Escorted by heavily armed federal agents, CBS News took a boat ride to the border with Gonzales Thursday.

Gonzalez said, "There are problems along the border. Whether you admit it or not there are problems and it's spillover violence."

The sheriff's objectives were to show that the American side of Falcon Lake is safe, and to deliver a message to the drug cartel that controls the water, and land beyond the border.

Gonzalez said, "What I've told them is, 'I need a body. Give me a body, guys, and everything will go away. Give a body guys and the news media will go away.'"

Gonzales fears the same cartel enforcers who killed David have permanently hidden his body.

He said, "The body has been disposed of. They have it somewhere they've gotten rid of the body so there's no evidence."

But that's not something Tiffany Hartley is ready to accept, and says she's only now beginning to grieve.

Tiffany Hartley said, "At certain times there's points where you do feel like this is it. I'm never gonna see him again. He's gone. And then at other points he's gonna be walking through that door."

Doubt has been cast on Tiffany Hartley's story by Mexico officials, but she told CNN recently she would take a lie detector test if people continue to doubt her account of the attack.

Teague added on "The Early Show" that search for David Hartley's body in cartel-controlled waters is so dangerous for Mexican authorities, they had to briefly suspend searching for a time on Wednesday. He added, the good news, there has been no report of any actual violence against searchers and the search was back on Thursday and expected to begin again Friday.

On "The Early Show" Congressman Ted Poe, (R-Texas), who has been involved extensively in this case as well as ongoing border issues, said he has requested from the State Department that Americans search the Mexican side.

He said, "The Mexican government said yes, then backed off and said, 'No, we don't want the Americans over here.' We need to use the American resources that we have, because that area of the lake is controlled by the Zetas, there is an island on that lake where the Zetas really operate, the drug cartels. If we mean business about trying to recover David Hartley's body we need American involvement and the Mexican government needs to be relentless to find it. They are intimidated now, they really won't go near the area where the Zetas operate."

"Early Show" co-anchor Harry Smith said, "We need to stop and pause a second because even the Mexican authorities themselves are clearly not in control. It's the drug cartel that is in control because…the Mexican authorities backed away when they were threatened."

Poe agreed, saying, "That area of Falcon Lake on the Mexican side, all the way to the American edge of the water is controlled by the Zeta cartels. They bring those drugs into the United States, usually at night by high-speed boats, and they operate -- that is their operation -- and the Mexican government hasn't been able to stop them, won't stop them, refuses to or cannot, whatever the situation is, and they control that area. The government, neither government, controls that area, the drug cartels. And we're being held really hostage by the drug cartels on that area of the lake."

Smith added that while there has been some doubt cast on Tiffany Hartley's story, this is not the only reported incident of violence on this lake.

Poe replied, "American fishermen, fishing both on the American side of the lake and on the Mexican side of the lake -- you can get a permit to do that -- have been robbed by pirates on the lake, some of them have been taken to the Mexican side, stripped of all of their clothing and their valuables and their boat and left stranded there. This is the fifth time since May there's been some type of violence -- but the first homicide."

Poe said he'd like to see the United States to have more involvement in the search.

"The United States needs to use our resources, the Coast Guard. That needs to be operating on the lake at all times, not just this time," he said. "We have been very lax, in my opinion, as a nation, of protecting the entire southern border of the United States, including Falcon Lake.

We don't protect it. We wait for something to happen, and then we just sit back, as a nation, and wait for someone else to react.

We need to cooperate, need better cooperation with the Mexican government, but need to have really the military presence on the southern border, and that includes putting the National Guard throughout the border, including the Air National Guard, if we are serious about protecting Americans and American property, and keeping the drug cartels out of the United States."





Mexico Authorities Intensifies Search For Missing American



Mexican authorities have bolstered their search for a missing U.S. citizen and the government rejects assertions that security forces aren't doing enough to find him, the foreign ministry said Friday.

David Michael Hartley has been missing since a reported pirate attack September 30 on a lake bisected by the U.S.-Mexico border.

Hartley's wife, Tiffany, told authorities her husband was shot and killed by pirates on Falcon Lake during a sightseeing trip. His body has yet to be found, leading to questions about the accuracy of her statements.

The ministry said the federal attorney general's office opened an investigation based on testimony Tiffany Hartley gave to Mexican authorities at the consulate in McAllen, Texas. The government also has been in close touch with several U.S. authorities.

"The search and rescue for Mr. Hartley started the day of the incident, and intensified this week with additional officers from the Army, the Federal Police, and from state and municipal forces, which cover the area where the incident reportedly took place," the ministry said.

On Thursday, Tiffany Hartley said she might take a lie detector test if people continue to doubt the veracity of her account.

If "that's what the authorities think I need to do, then that might be an option," she said when asked on CNN's "AC 360" about taking a lie detector test.

Hartley was on several CNN shows Thursday recounting what happened last week on Falcon Lake. She also talked about her feelings about people doubting her account of the alleged attack.

Hartley said on HLN's "Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell" that "I know what I know."

"It's hard being judged and thought of that I might have done something to him," she said.

But she added, "As long as I know the truth, God knows the truth. And other than that, it almost doesn't really matter to me, because I know what happened that day."

Mexican authorities said earlier this week that they could not verify the shooting, and Hartley was asked point-blank on NBC's "Today" show Wednesday whether she had anything to do with her husband's disappearance.

Pam Hartley, David Hartley's mother, said Tuesday that any suggestion that her daughter-in-law's account was inaccurate is "insane."

Investigators have found some evidence that backs up Hartley's account, including blood on her life vest, Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez Jr. said Thursday. And the incident was similar to other attacks reported by boaters on Falcon Lake, about 70 miles west of the Hartley's home in McAllen.

Gonzalez has said the gunmen are typically teenagers hired by a drug cartel in the neighboring Mexican state of Tamaulipas. Mexican authorities have said the lake is controlled on their side by "organized criminals," and the sheriff called on the Zeta cartel to turn over Hartley's remains if they have them.

"We just want a body," he said.

Tiffany Hartley said she believes the attackers took her 30-year-old husband's body after he was shot in the head and fell off the personal watercraft he was riding. She said she suspects her husband's remains are more likely to have been dragged onto land than to have been left in the lake.

"We do believe if they would just go ahead and give us David's body back, it would be done. It would be concluded. We could go on with our lives," she said.

Authorities from both nations are conducting separate searches and are coordinating and holding regular meetings, State Department spokeswoman Virginia Staab said. But because the alleged crime happened on the Mexican side of the border, the United States cannot prosecute or make arrests in the case, the sheriff said.

Tiffany Hartley, 29, told HLN that the couple set out across the lake on personal watercraft for a sightseeing trip to Guerrero Viejo, a half-submerged ghost town on the Mexican side of the lake. Though there had been warnings about previous robberies on the lake, she said they had heard of no problems for several months, "So we figured everything had kind of calmed down."

Instead, she said, they were pursued by men in three boats as they left the site's historic church.

At first, "they just waved at us like we were friendly, a very friendly wave," she said. But then, as the couple passed, she said they began chasing them and firing shots.

David Hartley was shot in the head and fell off his personal watercraft, and he was unresponsive when she turned back to try to retrieve him, his wife said. While she was trying to haul him onto her craft, their attackers pulled up alongside, she said.

"They didn't say anything to me, so I don't know what they were trying to do ... but they left," she said. "They just left me there. Thankfully they didn't shoot at me. They had a gun pointed at me."

Unable to pull her husband's body out of the water, Hartley headed back across the lake to U.S. waters. She said the gunmen fired "a few more" times on her way back.

"Once I started to get going, I just went as fast as I could and didn't look back until I couldn't see them anymore," she said.

Rolando Flores, lead investigator for the Tamaulipas state police, described the area as "a conflict zone."

The state has made headlines recently as a hotbed for drug cartel violence, and there have been at least four cases of gunmen in Mexican waters robbing or threatening boaters on Falcon Lake since April, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

David Hartley worked for an oil company in Reynosa, Mexico, and the couple had lived on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande before moving back to the United States earlier this year, family friends said.

His aunt, Alice Harrod, told HLN's "Prime News" the family had concerns about their safety in the area, "and we were all thrilled to hear that they were moving back to Colorado," where they grew up.

"We're all very devastated. It's hard to even believe something like this could happen. We're hanging in there, but it's very, very difficult for the whole family," Harrod said.

According to Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, 60 Mexican personnel, three boats and a helicopter have taken part in the search.

Investigators resumed their work Thursday despite threats to their lives, and Cuellar suggested that the Mexican navy might need to be called in to help.

Despite the dangers on the Mexican side of the lake, Texas officials on Thursday said that the U.S. side of the body of water remains safe.

"It is just as safe now as any other time. However, there is a threat," said Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, D-Texas.


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Sources: CBS News, CNN, MSNBC, Google Maps

Christopher "Dudus" Coke Arrested In Jamaica, Stopping War On Drugs!

Christopher "Dudus" Coke, Alleged Drug Kingpin Arrested in Jamaica


Police in Jamaica issued a plea for calm after the arrest of alleged drug lord Christopher "Dudus" Coke outside Kingston.

The arrest occurred just outside the capital city on Tuesday afternoon. A failed attempt to arrest Coke last month resulted in four days of gun battles between security forces and his supporters that left 76 people dead, and authorities want to avoid a repeat of the violence.

"I would like to appeal to the families, friends and sympathizers of Christopher Coke to remain calm and to allow the law to take its course. I also [would] like to assure the citizens of Jamaica that the situation remains normal, there is no need for alarm and they can get about their normal businesses in the usual way," Police Commissioner Owen Ellington said on Tuesday.

Ellington told reporters that police acting on intelligence picked up Coke, 41, and took him to the Spanish Town Police Station in St. Catherine. From there, he was taken via helicopter to Kingston, Ellington said.

Police will be taking "every step possible to ensure his safety and well-being whilst he is in our custody," Ellington said.

The police high command was meeting Tuesday night with the police director of public prosecution to begin the process of extradition to the United States as soon as possible, Ellington said.

"The legal proceedings will commence immediately. Once we are able to settle on the issue of legal representation and reach an agreement with the director of public prosecutions on where the hearings will be held, a court date will be set and we anticipate that we can achieve that within 48 hours," Ellington said.

The U.S. Attorney's Office hailed the arrest after a five-week manhunt by local authorities.

"We look forward to working closely with the Jamaican authorities to bring Coke to justice to face charges pending against him in Manhattan federal court," said Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Coke, who is wanted in the United States on gun and drug trafficking charges, was en route to the U.S. Embassy in Kingston accompanied by the Rev. Al Miller when Jamaican police recognized him at a checkpoint and took him into custody, the minister told a reporter for Radio Jamaica.

Ellington called for Miller to contact police "because we have an interest in interviewing him."

Coke was charged last year in U.S. federal court with conspiracy to distribute marijuana and cocaine and with conspiracy to illegally traffic in firearms.

He maintained a heroic reputation in the Kingston slums, with some people comparing him to Robin Hood, Jesus and one-time Colombian kingpin Pablo Escobar.

His popularity stemmed from his community efforts, including handing out food, sending children to school and building medical centers.

But drug enforcement officials say he deserves to be classified as one of the world's most dangerous drug lords.

"He is the head of an organization, a cartel, or a syndicate that has a global impact and also has a direct impact on the United States," said Michael Braun, a former chief of operations for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Coke was charged in August 2009 by the U.S. attorney's office in New York, which accused him of leading an international criminal syndicate known as the "Shower Posse."


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Sources: CNN, MSNBC, Reuters, Youtube, Google Maps

Mexican Cartel Hitmen Targeting, Killing U.S. Consulate Employees

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Mexico Drug Hitmen Target U.S. Consulate Staff


U.S. and Mexican officials have launched an investigation into the killing of an American couple and a Mexican man with ties to the U.S. consulate by suspect drug gang hitmen over the weekend.

The slayings came amid a surge in bloodshed along Mexico's border with Texas and drew condemnation from the White House. Mexico's president expressed outrage and promised a fast investigation to find those responsible.

Authorities put suspicion on gangs of hitmen allied with the Juarez drug cartel, Los Aztecas and La Linea, according to Mexican newspaper reports. That theory is based on "information exchanged with U.S. federal agencies" helping in the investigation, according to a statement Sunday from the joint mission of soldiers and federal police overseeing security in Ciudad Juarez.

Violence has exploded in recent months in Ciudad Juarez as the head of the Juarez cartel, Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, fights off a bloody offensive by Mexico's No. 1 fugitive drug lord, Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, at the worst hotspot of Mexico's three-year-old drug war.

While putting the blame on the drug gang, police offered no information on a possible motive in the slayings, or what exactly those slain did at the Consulate. U.S. State Department spokesman Fred Lash said only that the three dead people were at the same party before the attacks that occurred minutes apart Saturday afternoon.

The Americans were identified as consular employee Lesley A. Enriquez, 35, and her husband, Arthur H. Redelfs, 34, by Robert Cason, Redelfs' stepfather. Redelfs was a detention officer at the El Paso County Jail, he said.

The woman was shot in the head, while her husband suffered wounds in his neck and arm. Their baby was found unharmed in the back seat.

Cason declined to discuss the welfare of his grandchild. "I don't want to give any more information to the psychotics out there," he said.

The killings mark a significant deterioration in the security situation for Americans in Mexico, as well as the war on drugs, Mexico-based security consultant Jon French said.

"This is a new low, particularly historically," he said. "American officials have not been targets — it would appear that they are now."

Children hospitalized

Ten minutes before that killing, police in another part of the city found the body of the husband of a Mexican employee of the consulate.

Jorge Alberto Salcido Ceniceros, 37, a Mexican citizen, was shot to death in his car, while his two children, ages 4 and 7, were wounded, according to the state prosecutors office. The children were hospitalized.

The U.S. consulate in Ciudad Juarez, shut for Monday's Mexican national holiday, also will be closed on Tuesday as "a way for the community to mourn the loss" of the victims, said consulate spokesman Silvio Gonzalez.

It was the second U.S. border consulate closed because of violence in the last month. The consular office in Reynosa, across from McAllen, Texas closed for several days in late February because of gun battles in the area.

Several U.S. citizens have been killed in Mexico's drug war, most of them people with family ties to Mexico. It is very rare for American government employees to be targeted, although attackers hurled grenades at the U.S. consulate in the northern city of Monterrey in 2008.

The State Department authorized U.S. government employees at Ciudad Juarez and five other U.S. consulates in northern Mexico to send family members out of the area because of concerns about rising drug violence. The cities are Tijuana, Nogales, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey and Matamoros.

Lash said the decision was based not only on Saturday's killings but also on a wider pattern of violence and threats in northern Mexico in recent weeks. The State Department noted the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City has advised American citizens to delay unnecessary travel to parts of the Mexican states of Durango, Coahuila and Chihuahua.

Nearly 19,000 people have been killed since President Felipe Calderon came to power in Mexico in late 2006 and launched a military assault on the country's powerful drug cartels, sparking a surge in violence that has alarmed Washington, foreign investors and tourists.

'She just went back to work'

Enriquez and Redelfs were shot to death in their car near the Santa Fe International bridge linking Ciudad Juarez with El Paso, Texas, said Vladimir Tuexi, a spokesman for the Chihuahua state prosecutors office.

Tuexi said their baby, who is believed to about one-year-old, was in the custody of Mexican social services.

The U.S. government did not give any details on Enriquez's job at the consulate, and Cason said he didn't know what she did there. A neighbor of Enriquez, Zonia Rivas, also didn't know.

"I do know she just went back to work about three months ago after having her baby," she said.

Civilians have increasingly gotten caught in the middle of drug gang violence that has made Ciudad Juarez one of the deadliest cities in the world, with more than 2,500 people killed last year alone.

The three died during a particularly bloody weekend in Mexico, with nearly 50 people killed in apparent gang violence. Nine people were killed in a gang shootout early Sunday in the Pacific resort city of Acapulco, one of Mexico's spring break attractions.

'Sincerest condolences'

The office of Mexican President Felipe Calderon's office said he "expresses his indignation" and "his sincerest condolences to the families of the victims" of Saturday's attack.

Calderon "reiterated the Mexican government's unwavering compromise to resolve these grave crimes," his office said.

President Barack Obama was "deeply saddened and outraged" by the killings, the White House said.

"He extends his condolences to the families and condemns these attacks on consular and diplomatic personnel serving at our foreign missions," the statement said. "In concert with Mexican authorities, we will work tirelessly to bring their killers to justice."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said "these appalling assaults on members of our own State Department family are, sadly, part of a growing tragedy besetting many communities in Mexico."

"They underscore the imperative of our continued commitment to work closely with the government of President Calderon to cripple the influence of trafficking organizations at work in Mexico," she added. "This is a responsibility we must shoulder together."


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Sources: MSNBC, Google Maps

Tiffany Wright's Baby DNA Lie & Her Tainted Murder Case (DSS Cover Up)

Destroying Tiffany Wright's Character to free a Violent, Repeat Offender (Royce Mitchell) with a criminal background of Murder, is exactly what North Carolina & Charlotte DSS Officials are attempting to do.

Why?

Its a Charlotte DSS Cover up. Continuing reading and you'll learn more about this disturbing tragedy.


Here are 17 Important Facts in Tiffany Wright's Murder case.


After reading them you decide whether or not you believe Charlotte-Mecklenburg County's DSS Dept is Legally & Solely Liable for Tiffany Wright's death:


1) Charlotte DSS Director Mary Wilson, is a friend of Charlotte County Manager Harry Jones, who is also friend of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioner Chairperson Jennifer Roberts.

Some of those individuals listed are also Fraternity/Sorority associates, Masons and Church friends.


2) On September 14, 2009 Tiffany Wright, a pregnant, African-American teen living within North Carolina's Foster Care system, was shot to death while standing at her school bus stop.


3) Tiffany Wright, Tiffany Wright's Family, Royce Mitchell and Mitchell's Co-Murder Conspirator Adrian Powell, all hail from Buffalo, NY.

What a coincidence.


4) The City of Charlotte hired Royce Mitchell a dangerous Convicted, Violent Felon with an extensive Criminal History.

After serving 5 years in Federal Prison, he was released for "good behavior".

Mitchell's criminal past also includes Stabbing people & Murder.

Yet....

He was released early for "good behavior"? Go Figure.


5) Royce Mitchell was Indicted for another Murder (in New York) but mysteriously acquitted at Trial.

I guess his Colombian Drug Lords paid off New York Prison Officials just like they probably tried to influence Charlotte Officials.


6) Royce Mitchell was also a Freemason which provided him with "Special" connections.

No doubt Mitchell's Freemason connections, his Light-Skinned, Bad Boy looks and most likely FEAR helped him land a job with the City of Charlotte despite his terrible past.

Can you believe someone with his background was hired by the City of Charlotte?

Well believe it because he was!

Just like former Charlotte Police Officer/ Sex Offender Marcus Jackson was.


7) Royce Mitchell's Wife filed a complaint against him for Domestic Violence (he beat her) and separated from him.


8) After his wife left him, Charlotte DSS Officials allowed Royce Mitchell a Convicted Felon with a dangerous criminal history which includes Drug Trafficking ($1M a year in Cocaine Trafficking) & Murder, to have temporary custody of Tiffany Wright after her Foster Care Mother died.

No one was residing in the home but this Violent Drug Dealer (Mitchell) and a 15-year-old girl of which NC DSS Officials didn't seem to care two cents about.

A recipe for Statutory Rape disaster don't you agree?


9) Royce Mitchell had Sex with Tiffany Wright and she became pregnant not longer after.

According to NC Statutes, this constitutes as Statutory Rape:

§ 14‑27.7A. Statutory rape or sexual offense of person who is 13, 14, or 15 years old.

(a) A defendant is guilty of a Class B1 felony if the defendant engages in vaginal intercourse or a sexual act with another person who is 13, 14, or 15 years old and the defendant is at least six years older than the person, except when the defendant is lawfully married to the person.

(b) A defendant is guilty of a Class C felony if the defendant engages in vaginal intercourse or a sexual act with another person who is 13, 14, or 15 years old and the defendant is more than four but less than six years older than the person, except when the defendant is lawfully married to the person. (1995, c. 281, s. 1.)


10) After Tiffany Wright reported to Charlotte DSS Officials she had Sex with Royce Mitchell, they still allowed her to remain in Mitchell's home for several more weeks before removing her.


11) Charlotte Police detectives interviewed Tiffany.

The detectives also recorded Tiffany's interview during which she admitted to having Sex with Royce Mitchell.


12) Despite her unstable, painful life, Tiffany's Teachers stated she was a good student, who dreamed of becoming a Lawyer like Michelle Obama (one of her idols).


13) Prior to her tragic death Royce Mitchell tried to influence and force Tiffany into having an Abortion because he thought the baby she was carrying was his. When she refused not longer after she was Murdered. Shot three times while standing at her school bus stop.

Strangely enough Tiffany Wright was shot after her new Foster Care mother who usually waits with Tiffany at the bus stop until the bus arrives, went back in the house to get something.

Is this a coincidence?

I think not. (Planned, Pre-Meditated Murder Conspiracy)


14) Now Charlotte Law Enforcement Officials and the Charlotte Observer want you to believe Adrian Powell (the other Murder Suspect) is the real father of Tiffany's dead baby.

If you believe Adrian Powell (Murder Suspect no. 2) is the father of Tiffany Wright's dead baby, I have some swamp land in Florida I want to sell you.

If so than why did it take Charlotte's Medical Examiner Office & Charlotte DSS six months to reveal this fact?

What were they trying to hide?

(For the record I don't have any swamp land in Florida to sell.)


15) After Tiffany's death a Warrant was issued for Royce Mitchell's arrest.

The charge? Statutory Rape.

Since Mitchell was on Federal Probation, that illegal act violated his probation and landed him back in Jail per a Fair, Honest Federal Judge.


16) The Charlotte D.A.'s Office and Charlotte's Criminal Justice System has a long history of practicing Racial Discrimination, including intentionally failing to prosecute Killers of Charlotte's Black Youth.


17) The Charlotte Observer, NC DSS, Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Commissioners, Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Manager and Charlotte DSS are now involved in a Cover-Up of Tiffany Wright's horrible, premature Death.

A death caused through NO fault of her own!


Now if Tiffany had been related to a Black Fraternity/ Sorority or Black Politician member it would have been a different story. But unfortunately she wasn't.

During her young life she was Molested on numerous occasions and had engaged in many Sexual encounters.

To Tiffany having sex with Royce Mitchell was normal because NO One had taught her differently.

What about her Foster Mother?

Its obvious she had not.

I'm not saying Tiffany Wright's Foster Mother Alma Wright wasn't a good person but most of the time people just adopt or raise Foster Care Children to get a Check, not because they really love them.

Charlotte's current D.A. Peter Gilchrist, a man widely known for NOT doing anything to punish Killers of Charlotte's Black Youth, didn't want to do anything to bring Royce Mitchell to Justice.

Peter Gilchrist considers ALL of Charlotte's Black Youth to be "thugs" who don't deserve to live, much less walk on the same of the street he walks on.

Gilchrist claims because Tiffany was dead she couldn't defend herself.

Let's see how many Killers of dead White Women has Peter Gilchrist prosecuted?

I'll remind you of one, Kim Thomas.

Kim Thomas was a Wealthy, White Charlotte Woman murdered in 1990.

Charlotte's Lopsided, Racist Criminal Justice System prosecuted and punished Kim's Killer even though she wasn't alive to "Defend" herself either.

Kim Thomas' Wealthy White, Influential husband was eventually charged with her Murder but the charges were dropped after he raised a ruckus.

A Black Man was later linked to and imprisoned for her death.

Now a New probe has been opened into the Kim Thomas Murder Case.

All of this "Justice" has taken place and yet Kim Thomas NEVER testified to defend herself because she's DEAD! Just like Tiffany Wright.

In addition there are no Character Assassination tactics being used against Kim Thomas, as in the case of Tiffany Wright.

How was Charlotte's current D.A. (Peter Gilchrist) able to prosecute someone for Kim Thomas death but yet NOT do so for Tiffany Wright's?

Both were Murdered, neither could testify to defend themselves, however their cases were handled with different levels of Justice.

So other than Racism what's Peter Gilchrist's excuse?

I presume that since Tiffany Wright was Black and Poor, she wasn't a victim of Statutory Rape.

No since she was Black, she was just a Whore in Peter Gilchrist's, in the eyes of Charlotte DSS and in the eyes of Charlotte Observer Editorial Staff.

Did Charlotte Police botch Kim Thomas's case? NO!

Did Charlotte Police botch Tiffany Wright's case? NO!

Charlotte's Racist D.A.'s Office did!

(North Carolina's Criminal Justice System is extremely Racist. No doubt Gilchrist is a part of that racism. How else can he explain NOT doing anything to punish Killers of Charlotte's Black Youth?)

Even though the Charlotte Police had collected evidence linking Royce Mitchell to Tiffany Wright's Murder and despite Mitchell's terrible, Violent past Gilchrist claimed "he didn't have a case".

Even though Charlotte's Police department presented ALL their evidence to Peter Gilchrist and was willing to fully cooperate, he still claimed "he didn't have a case".

I wonder which North Carolina and Charlotte's "Powers that be" influenced him NOT to pursue this case.

I wonder if any of Royce Mitchell's Freemason or Drug Lord Connections also influenced Peter Gilchrist NOT to prosecute Royce Mitchell.

Don't forget Royce Mitchell a $1Million a year Drug Dealer, was previously Indicted for Murder in New York but somehow mysteriously acquitted at Trial.

Also Don't forget that Gilchrist is a part of North Carolina's Racist Criminal Justice System.

Thanks to a Federal Judge and Federal Prosecutors, at his Probation Violation Hearing, Royce Mitchell was found to have violated his Probation for sleeping with Tiffany (Statutory Rape).

He was than sent back to jail for a measly 30 months.

Now its time to charge him with Murder.

Do I believe Royce Mitchell is directly linked to Tiffany's Murder? Yes!

Do I believe Royce Mitchell paid Adrian Powell to shoot and kill Tiffany? Yes!

Do I believe Adrian Powell is the real father of Tiffany's baby? No!

Do I believe Royce Mitchell is the REAL father of Tiffany's baby? Yes!

Do I believe Royce Mitchell should spend the rest of his life in Prison? Yes!

Do I believe Adrian Powell should spend the rest of his life in Prison too? Yes!

Do I believe Charlotte Officials are afraid of Royce Mitchell? Yes!

Do I believe the Federal Gov't needs to remain involved in this Murder case because the local Legal System is Corrupt & Racist? Yes!

Do I believe Charlotte DSS is solely responsible for Tiffany death due to their extreme Negligence?

Yes and they know it which is why they are trying to destroy her name with these Charlotte Observer Character Assassination articles.

Do I believe there is definitely a Charlotte DSS Cover Up taking place? Yes!

Double Jeopardy won't allow the American Criminal Justice to try Mitchell again for the previous Murders (he was acquitted at Trial) but his past is proven to be extremely Dangerous and Violent.


Since the people responsible for Tiffany's death are Corrupt Democrats and Pres. Obama is a Democrat known for slinging "Chicago Politics" because he only cares about the next election, its obvious we can't count on him to help.

Pres. Obama is so desperate for votes to pass his Health Care Plan which is going to hurt our nation more so than help it (Debt), I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't somehow involved in Tiffany Wright's Murder Case Cover Up just to get enough votes.

What about Charlotte's Black Leaders?

Forget It!

With the exception of perhaps one or two people (NOT Mayor Anthony Foxx), Charlotte doesn't have any real, Bold, Black Leaders who are willing to stand up for our Black Youth.

Certainly NOT the tired local NAACP! (Charlotte's NAACP is a Joke.)

However we can count on JESUS to be her Advocate and to properly vindicate her!

Tiffany Wright's Killers WILL be bought to Justice along with everyone involved in the cover up of her Murder.

Now check out the articles & videos below which help to prove that Charlotte DSS is Negligent for Tiffany Wright's death, to learn more about Charlotte DSS's Cover Up scheme and Charlotte Racist D.A.'s Office.







Time Line Of Events Leading To Tiffany Wright's Death


Timeline compiled from court and prison records and interviews with family members and police:

NOV. 4, 1993: Tiffany Wright is born in Buffalo, N.Y.

1995-1996: At age 2, Tiffany is put in foster care in Buffalo, N.Y., with Alma Wright, who later adopts her.

1999: Royce Mitchell, Wright's grown son, is indicted in Buffalo and later convicted in connection with a drug trafficking operation.

NOV. 2003: Mitchell is indicted in a 1998 murder but acquitted at trial.

2004: Wright and Tiffany move to Kings Mountain.

APRIL 2007: Mitchell is released from federal prison and is under four years' post-release supervision. He moves to Charlotte and gets a job as a city street maintenance worker.

JAN. 25, 2009: Wright dies of natural causes at age 77.

JAN. 30, 2009: Tiffany's adoptive brother, Mitchell, seeks to become her legal guardian.

JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2009: Tiffany gets pregnant.

FEB. 5: The court appoints Mitchell as temporary guardian.

FEB. 27: A court orders a home study of Mitchell's household. Tiffany is soon placed in foster care again.

JULY 27: DSS reports allegation of statutory rape by Mitchell, police say.

AUG. 19: Police interview Tiffany.

AUG. 20: CMPD detective Teresa Johnson leaves message for Mitchell to come talk to police. When he doesn't respond, she phones social workers and a probation officer over the next two weeks to get the message to Mitchell.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 11: Detectives leave a message for Mitchell's wife, asking her to call back to talk about Tiffany.

MONDAY, SEPT. 14: Tiffany is shot and killed at her school bus stop. Her daughter, named Aaliyah, is delivered at Carolinas Medical Center. Mitchell is arrested and charged with statutory rape and taking indecent liberties with a child.

SUNDAY: Baby Aaliyah dies after a week in critical condition.

WEDNESDAY: Tiffany is buried in Bessemer City.





DNA proves father of Tiffany Wright's baby


It's a tragedy that's taken many twists and turns. A pregnant Charlotte teen gunned down at a bus stop.

The latest twist ... who the baby's father is.

Sources tell NewsChannel 36, DNA proved 17-year-old Adrian Powell, a former West Meck student, was the father of Tiffany Wright's baby.

"It does give me some pause," says Dr. Jennifer Hartman, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at UNCC.

Wright and Royce Mitchell have been linked. She was 8-months pregnant when she was murdered last September at her school bus stop. Mitchell was initially named as a person of interest.

Testifying at a hearing for Mitchell, Powell told a federal judge Wright kept calling and telling him he was the daddy.

But Powell said he wore a condom and they had sex last May, and the timing was all wrong.

Hartman says none of the new information looks good for Powell.

"Did he lie, I think it’s a convenient defense right now and I think it will be interesting to see what happens as this case unfolds," says Hartman.

Powell moved to Buffalo, N.Y., shortly after the killing.

Wright's grandmother also lives there.

"I think at this point it's time for Charlotte to make Adrian Powell come down and answer a few questions like 'why did you lie?' " says Shirley Boston, Tiffany Wright's grandmother.

Police still have not made an arrest in this case, but say they are confident that they will.




"Person Of Interest" In Kim Thomas' Murder Mystery


Police are investigating “a person of interest” other than Dr. Ed Friedland in the murder 20 years ago of his wife Kim Thomas.

Though Charlotte-Mecklenburg police declined Tuesday to say whether Friedland is no longer a suspect, it is the first time since the mid-1990s that the department has acknowledged investigating anyone other than Friedland.

This latest development in the high-profile murder case comes two weeks after police revealed that new evidence had surfaced. They won’t say what that evidence is.

In a Feb. 24 letter to the chief of police and the district attorney, Friedland’s lawyer asked they indicate that the new evidence does not relate to Friedland, “preferably stating that Dr. Friedland is no longer a suspect.”

Attorney David Rudolf’s letter noted that a newspaper in Pensacola, Fla., where Friedland now lives, planned to publish a story about the case. Without a statement exonerating Friedland, Rudolf wrote, the newspaper story would “do enormous damage to the medical practice he has worked so hard to build in that community.”

A response from CMPD police attorney Mark Newbold stopped short of clearing Friedland. “I have been advised,” Newbold wrote, “that a person of interest other than Dr. Friedland is currently being investigated by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department in connection with the murder of Kim Thomas.” Newbold declined to elaborate, either about Friedland’s status in the case or about the other person.

Friedland, a kidney specialist, has claimed for 15 years that Marion Gales killed Thomas. Gales lived nearby and did yard work for the couple, and was seen in their neighborhood the morning of her murder, July 27, 1990.

Police said in court that Gales and at least five people other than Friedland were suspects early in the investigation, but they had been cleared through fingerprint analysis or interviews. Police contended Friedland killed Thomas as a way out of their marriage.

The killer handcuffed Thomas, chased her through her home off Wendover Road and slashed her more than 20 times. The murder gripped the city not only because of its brutality, but also because of suspicion that Friedland was the killer.

Police charged him four years later, and since then the case has been in and out of the news. A prosecutor dropped the criminal charge in 1995 due to insufficient evidence. Then Friedland sued Gales in civil court for wrongful death and a jury in 1997 awarded Friedland $8.6 million.

Friedland also filed a malicious prosecution suit against police, but a judge dismissed that lawsuit in 2001, ruling that authorities had reasonable grounds to prosecute him.

To families involved in the case, it looked as if the murder might never be solved. But in 2008, two things happened that brought the case back into the news:

Gales was charged with killing a female acquaintance, and is now in prison in Tabor City.

Investigators turned to a new "touch DNA" technology that allows forensic scientists to scrape evidence for skin cells left by someone who may have briefly touched the items. The extracted genetic material can help identify a suspect.

Police won’t say whether that’s the new evidence in the case or to whom the evidence points.




Charlotte Court Documents Tell Of Pressure For Abortion


Royce Mitchell was pressuring 15-year-old Tiffany Wright to end her pregnancy - and took her to an abortion clinic - according to new court documents that may shed light on why police say Mitchell should be prosecuted for statutory rape.

The documents, released Tuesday, say Mitchell took Tiffany - his adopted sister - to a Charlotte abortion clinic in mid-July but was turned away because, at 21 weeks of pregnancy, she was too far along.

Within days, Mitchell planned a trip to an Atlanta clinic where Tiffany's pregnancy could be terminated, the documents say. Tiffany refused to go.

On Sept. 14, Tiffany, a Hawthorne High junior, was fatally shot as she waited for her school bus on Mallard Creek Road. Doctors delivered her baby girl, but the infant died.

The new information comes in affidavits from the day of the killing, when police sought search warrants for Mitchell's south Charlotte home and an apartment police say he visited that day.

Police call Mitchell, 36, a "person of interest" in the killing, but they haven't charged him. On the day of Tiffany's death, Mitchell was jailed on charges of statutory rape and taking indecent liberties with Tiffany.

But those charges were dropped last week by prosecutors after a DNA test showed Mitchell was not the father of her baby. Without Tiffany alive to testify about her relationship with Mitchell, prosecutors said the case lacked enough evidence.

The move angered Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, who criticized the prosecutors' decision. Police said they believe there's "probable cause" based on "evidence gathered" to prosecute Mitchell on the sex charges - even without DNA evidence.

The affidavits released Tuesday say Tiffany's foster parents reported that Mitchell picked her up on July 20 at about 10:30 p.m. "to take her to visit a dying relative." Tiffany later reported she was really being held against her will by Mitchell and an unidentified female "as they attempted to convince Tiffany to engage in an abortion by non-medical personnel," the affidavits say.

The documents also say that Mitchell scheduled an abortion in Atlanta for the next day and wanted to pick up Tiffany at 5 a.m. from the foster home. But Tiffany refused.

The affidavit also says that Mitchell moved away from his wife and kids in July, at the request of the Department of Social Services, because of allegations he'd committed statutory rape with Tiffany. But Mitchell's wife told detectives that he showed up at the house at 6:45 a.m. on Sept. 14, less than an hour after Tiffany was shot. He took a shower and changed his clothes, the affidavit says.

Police seized a T-shirt, shorts, a tank top and a letter during their search of the home.

Police declined to discuss how Mitchell's actions alleged in the affidavits might have aided the prosecution. Deputy Chief David Graham said he can't comment, but said, in general: "No one piece of evidence standing alone means much, but when tied together helps establish direction for an investigation and possible motive."

Mecklenburg District Attorney Peter Gilchrist stood by his decision to drop the sex charges, saying his office knew about the information in the affidavits.

That evidence, he said, can't be used in court because it's hearsay evidence, and Tiffany can't testify to corroborate it. "What a person who is dead may have told someone else is not admissible," Gilchrist said.

He said defendants must be able to cross-examine those who testify against them.

Mitchell remains in the Mecklenburg jail. He's accused of violating the conditions of his release from federal prison in 2007 because sex charges were brought against him.

Mitchell served five years for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy in Buffalo, N.Y., and remains under federal supervision. The conditions of his release require that Mitchell have a job, meet regularly with a federal officer and stay out of trouble.

Mitchell lost his job on a street crew for the city of Charlotte after he was charged with statutory rape. A city news release said he was fired for "falsifying his employment application, which is in violation of city policy."

Mitchell has a hearing set for Thursday in federal court. A judge must decide whether there's probable cause that Mitchell violated the conditions of his release and whether he should remain jailed without bond while the federal case proceeds.

If a judge later finds that Mitchell violated the terms, he could be sent back to prison.

To prove a violation, prosecutors have a lower burden than they would at trial. They must prove only that the preponderance of the evidence shows that Mitchell committed sex acts with Tiffany, but need not prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.

"When state prosecutors dismissed the charges, they didn't say he didn't do it," said Greg Forest, chief of the federal probation office in Charlotte. "They said they didn't feel like they had the evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt....We don't have to have proof beyond a reasonable doubt."





Charlotte DSS Confirms Orgal Opata Had Left Children Unsupervised Before


New details have emerged over the case of a mother who police say left her kids home alone and they later died in a house fire.

Newschannel 36 has learned the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services had been investigating Orgal Opata for repeatedly leaving her child home alone with claims going back two years.

One-year-old Gabriel Hawthorne and his big brother, two-year-old Josiah, were both killed in that fire.

They were left home alone with their four-year-old brother and seven-year-old sister when fire swept through the family's home on Rowan Street.

“It’s a tragedy for all of us,” says Mecklenburg County Commission Chair Jennifer Roberts.

But could the tragedy have been prevented?

NewsChannel 36 has learned DSS had been called to the home in October, 2009.

Court documents show that's when Josiah was found wandering the street in his diaper.

DSS released a statement showing the agency had actually been dealing with Opata since June 2008, when DSS got a referral alleging the children were left unattended.

DSS provided sleeping materials and recommended services for Opata and the case was closed in august of 2008.

But then came the October 2009 incident.

In a statement from DSS they say a social worker was assigned to the case and had regular contact with Opata.

They go onto say all information obtained by DSS indicated the children were receiving appropriate supervision.

The deadly fire happened just four months later.

The county oversees DSS and the commission chair plans to figure out if the agency could have done more to save these kids.

“Once something has happened you never feel like it was enough, you always ask 'could we have done something more, could we have noticed one more thing, one more phone call or one more intervention?' We may ask for additional information just for a comfort level, to know that protocols were followed and things were done as they should have been,” Roberts says.





Charlotte Agencies Claim They Tried To Help Tiffany But Did Too Little, Too Late



Tiffany Wright stood alone in the dark, waiting for her school bus.

It was just before 6 a.m., and her foster grandmother had walked back home to get Tiffany's water bottle.

Tiffany, 15, was eight months pregnant but determined to stay on track in school. She wanted to be a lawyer. And after just a few weeks at Hawthorne High, she had impressed teachers as smart and ambitious, despite a difficult childhood.

At 5:51, Tiffany sent a text.

"Wheres the bus?"

One stop away, replied her friend, already on the bus.

At 5:55, as the bus lumbered toward Tiffany's stop, people began calling police to report gunshots.

A school bus dispatcher radioed Tiffany's bus driver: Change course - something's happening ahead.

Tiffany lay dead in the road, shot in the head, that morning, Monday, Sept. 14. Her baby girl was delivered at the hospital and lived a week, but died Sunday.

Nobody's charged in the killings, but police call Tiffany's adoptive brother, Royce Mitchell, a "person of interest."

In the months before she died, local agencies took steps aimed at stabilizing her home life and keeping her safe. But her story exposes failures in the system that was supposed to protect her.

Among the missteps:

•In February, a Mecklenburg court clerk appointed Mitchell as Tiffany's temporary guardian - even though he was a felon who served time in federal prison. He was also tried in 2006 for murder, but found not guilty. And last year, he was accused of domestic violence, though the case was dismissed.

•In July, social workers told police that Mitchell, 36, might have committed statutory rape with Tiffany, but police didn't question him about it for seven weeks, and didn't charge him with the rape until after Tiffany was killed.

•This month, Mecklenburg social services failed to cut off communication between Tiffany, who was in foster care, and Mitchell, said a source close to the investigation.

On the day of Tiffany's killing, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police jailed Mitchell for statutory rape and indecent liberties with a child, naming Tiffany as the victim.

Police defend their work, saying they followed the industry's best practices - which takes time. Police didn't feel a need to rush, they say, because they believed Tiffany was secure, hidden in a foster home with no threat to her safety.

Police say it's hard to prove statutory rape: Of the 262 reports of statutory rape police received over three years, only 16 percent - 42 cases - were accepted by prosecutors.

Experts say statutory rape cases are complicated because they involve victims ages 13, 14 or 15 who often consider themselves voluntary participants in sex with someone at least six years older. So victims can be reluctant to help police.

But child advocates say in cases like Tiffany's, police should act more aggressively. An immediate arrest sends a signal to a suspect and can persuade them to stay away from victims.

"The cases may be difficult to win, but they're not difficult to charge," says Brett Loftis of Charlotte's Council for Children's Rights.

UNCC criminologist Paul Friday says: "Often, nothing is done in these kinds of cases because they're based on improper assumptions about the rationality of someone that age. But the minors are often unaware of disease, birth control and they can be exploited by someone."

Adopted by foster mother

Tiffany first entered the child welfare system as a toddler in Buffalo, N.Y., when her mother lost custody.

She was adopted at 4 by her foster mother, Alma Wright, an older woman with eight grown children, who was excited about raising another child.

One of Wright's grown sons was Royce Mitchell, a star quarterback in high school who'd gone on to play for a semi-pro team in Buffalo. But Mitchell also was indicted in 1999 as part of a drug trafficking ring and went to federal prison.

While he was in prison, authorities also charged Mitchell with an earlier murder, but a jury found him not guilty.

In 2004, Alma and Tiffany left Buffalo for North Carolina, settling near Kings Mountain. Tiffany made friends easily at school and church. She ran track at Bessemer City High School.

In 2007, Mitchell was released from prison and followed his mother to North Carolina.

But last fall, Alma Wright got sick. Friends at church helped out with Tiffany, inviting her for dinners and weekends. Tiffany spent time with Mitchell and his wife, too.

Alma Wright died Jan. 25, and Tiffany moved in with the Mitchells in Charlotte.

On Jan. 30, Royce Mitchell asked a Mecklenburg court to appoint him and his wife as Tiffany's guardians.

On his application, he wrote: "We are seeking guardianship because we were requested to do so by Mrs. Alma Wright before she died."

He wanted to transfer Tiffany to West Mecklenburg High School.

The court set a hearing for Feb. 5 and appointed a child advocate to study the situation and look after Tiffany's best interests in court.

There's no transcript of what happened in court, and the clerk who handled Tiffany's case declined to discuss his decision.

Frederick Benson, a Mecklenburg assistant clerk of superior court, appointed Mitchell the temporary guardian of Tiffany's welfare.

It's unclear if Benson, a lawyer, knew about Mitchell's criminal background. Court clerks are not required to perform background checks in guardianship cases, says Clerk of Superior Court Martha Curran. It's up to each clerk to decide what checks are necessary, and they often rely on court-appointed child advocates to advise them in such cases.

Tiffany's advocate, lawyer Martha Efird, declined to discuss her actions in the case.

It was in the weeks surrounding the Feb. 5 court hearing that Tiffany got pregnant, if hospital estimates are accurate.

But friends say Tiffany, who started at West Mecklenburg High in February, wouldn't realize for four or five months that she was pregnant.

On Feb. 27, clerk of court Benson ordered DSS to conduct a "home study" of the Mitchell household. Officials won't release their findings.

But Mitchell didn't keep custody long, according to several of Tiffany's friends in King's Mountain.

In late March, Mitchell left Tiffany at a group home called With Friends in Gastonia, according to Marlene Jefferies and Cruceta Jeffeirs, two adult family friends who watched Tiffany grow up.

The group home wouldn't confirm that. But the friends say the home reported to social services that Tiffany was abandoned. And she was soon back in foster care.

On March 31, Jeffeirs, a Shelby pastor, wrote a letter to Benson seeking custody of Tiffany: "My desire is to see Tiffany accomplish all the goals that she has set for herself and I believe she can do that in a stable environment with lots of guidance and love."

DSS officials in Gaston and Mecklenburg won't discuss Tiffany's case or answer questions about what steps they took to protect her.

But friends and family say Tiffany was eventually placed in the care of foster parent Susan Barber, in a townhome off Mallard Creek Road in Derita.

By July, it was clear Tiffany was pregnant, friends say.

Barber tried to shield Tiffany from talking to those she believed might be bad influences, according to Tiffany's cousin Brittany Page. But a source close to the investigation said Tiffany and Mitchell continued communicating.

Despite repeated attempts, Barber could not be reached.

As the school year approached, Tiffany prepared to change schools again, this time to Hawthorne High in Charlotte, which offers a special program for pregnant students.

Delayed investigation

On July 27, social workers reported to police that Royce Mitchell might have committed statutory rape with Tiffany.

It took eight days for a detective to look at the case, and three days more for it to be officially assigned to Teresa Johnson, a detective with CMPD's youth crime and domestic violence unit.

Another 12 days passed before Johnson interviewed Tiffany.

It's unclear when detective Johnson discovered Mitchell's background, but it wasn't enough to ramp up the investigation. Investigators say they believed Tiffany was safe in a foster home and faced no threats from Mitchell.

Police say their performance in the case followed procedure and met standards.

Police interview alleged victims immediately if the crime has occurred within the previous 72 hours, so they can gather evidence that may remain. But in cases like Tiffany's - where months had elapsed since the alleged offense - police try to arrange just one interview when children and teen victims of abuse are involved.

Police acknowledge that strategy takes time but minimizes trauma and reduces the chances that young victims might be led into inaccurate testimony by repeated questioning.

Police also let such victims decide when they want to be interviewed at the county's child-victim center called Pat's Place. There, specially trained interviewers talk to victims, while social workers, psychologists, police and others watch from another room.

Tiffany chose an Aug. 19 interview. She didn't say much during the formal interview. But later that day, Johnson won her trust and obtained enough information to move forward with the investigation.

No response from Mitchell

The next day, Aug. 20, the detective made her first call to Mitchell to ask him about the charge, she says. Johnson left a message and gave him a few days to call back.

When Mitchell didn't respond, she made calls over the next two weeks to social workers and a federal probation officer to ask Mitchell to come talk to police.

Police say they didn't immediately arrest him because they believed they could get better information if he talked voluntarily.

On Sept. 9, a federal probation official told Johnson that Mitchell was not coming in.

On Sept. 10, a team of social workers, police and other agencies held a standard follow-up meeting to discuss how to proceed in Tiffany's case.

On Friday, Sept. 11, detective Johnson phoned Mitchell's wife and left a message. She asked her to call back to discuss Tiffany, Johnson says, but didn't give details of the rape allegation.

That Monday, Tiffany was shot and killed.

As emergency vehicles rolled to the scene, Tiffany's school bus was diverted from its normal route. But the students could see flashing lights. Tiffany's friends on the bus, Cimone Black and Tamia Corpening, began to worry.

"I kept texting her phone...," Cimone said. Then she started calling, but all she got was voice mail.

The bus continued on to Hawthorne. For Tamia, the hourlong ride was excruciating.

Nobody said a word.




Charlotte Robbery Victim Shoots Teen (15 yrs old) Suspect Vigilante Style But Receives No Punishment


Seventy-six-year-old C.L. McClure would talk to a reporter only through his front door intercom Tuesday – three days after police said he shot and killed a 15-year-old suspected of robbing him and his wife.

“I'm not in any condition to talk,” said the retired building fireproofer through the faint static of his intercom speaker. He wouldn't elaborate.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said Tuesday that two separate investigative units – robbery and homicide – are trying to unravel what happened in a home invasion that ended with the death of 15-year-old Marcus Fluker.

The CMPD said home invasions are down this year by 19 percent, along with nearly all categories of violent crime.

And instances of a victim shooting at a perpetrator, let alone wounding or killing one, are extremely rare, said CMPD Capt. Mike Smathers, who commands the department's robbery unit.

Police also said Tuesday they want to prevent any possible retribution against McClure. A CMPD cruiser was parked Tuesday a few doors down from the McClure residence, and officers have made visits to the home to check on the elderly couple in northeast Charlotte's Newell community.

“I think there's a concern. They just want to be extra careful. It's extra upsetting to have a 15-year-old shot and killed,” said Smathers. “I don't care who you are; that's terrible. They're just trying to make sure peace is maintained.”

Police say McClure's brick home was the starting point of the complex crime scene.

According to a Saturday interview with McClure's son Larry, four teens entered the home while McClure was eating ice cream in his basement hobby shop.

The robbers, one armed with a gun, bound him with duct tape and held his wife at gunpoint. They ransacked the house and made off with some jewelry and a wallet, police said.

After they left, McClure broke free. “He checked on my mother,” said Larry McClure, who lives next door, “and he assumed he knew their route. He thought they might have been driving, and he wanted to get a tag number.”

“In his mind,” Larry McClure said, “he was worried they'd be back.”

His son said McClure grabbed his gun, got into his dark green van and guessed the thieves would head toward nearby Ginger Lane. Larry McClure said his father told him he was in his van when he saw one of the suspected robbers and thought he was armed. C.L. McClure fired his pistol when the teen turned toward him, his son said.

Fluker died later at Carolinas Medical Center. Police said they didn't recover a gun from where he fell.

Family and friends of Fluker say he was a good kid and got in with a bad crowd. They said they wished McClure had merely called police and waited.

Officers took McClure to headquarters for questioning, but he was released Saturday without being charged. In North Carolina, it's legal to kill someone in defense of yourself or another. N.C. law also protects homeowners who shoot to defend their property.

As of Tuesday police hadn't charged McClure. The Mecklenburg County District Attorney's Office will make a final decision.

Police have charged the other three teens with robbery and burglary.

Police identified them as Joseph Graves, 17, Matthew Everett Morgan, 17, and Tahjaue Wiley, 18.

Morgan already had a pending charge of robbery with a dangerous weapon from last summer and was scheduled to go to trial in October. He was convicted in May of bringing a weapon onto school grounds.

Graves and Wiley do not have any convictions on their N.C. record. Fluker's mother told the Observer her son had not been arrested or jailed before. Criminal records for minors are not available.





Charlotte Officer Suspended Due To Death Over Tasered Teen



A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer has been suspended for violating policy when he shocked a teen with a Taser gun for about 37 seconds, contributing to the teen's death.

Police announced Wednesday that Officer Jerry Dawson Jr. held the Taser trigger until 17-year-old Darryl Turner fell to the floor during a confrontation at a north Charlotte grocery store. The officer later shocked Turner a second time for five seconds.

Turner, who worked at the grocery store, died from cardiac arrest. The autopsy showed the teenager's heart was pumping so fast and chaotically from the stress of the confrontation and the Taser shot that it stopped pumping blood properly.

“We have deep regret and sympathy for that family. Officer Dawson also is in a great deal of pain,” said Deputy Chief Ken Miller, who oversees training. “Nobody feels good about the outcome.”

Prosecutors announced last week they would not charge Dawson, and found his use of force appropriate under N.C. law.

But police suspended Dawson, a 15-year veteran, for five days without pay. They released a surveillance video from the store Wednesday and more details about the March 20 confrontation.

Dawson, 39, will receive additional training on the proper use of a Taser.

His suspension follows an internal affairs investigation and a private hearing Tuesday before a review board of his supervisors, internal affairs investigators and a civilian.

“After a thorough review of the evidence, the board determined that the initial decision to discharge the Taser was within our procedures, but the prolonged use of the Taser was not,” police said.

A Taser is a weapon that typically uses compressed nitrogen to shoot two tethered needle-like probes that penetrate skin and deliver an electric shock. It's designed to temporarily subdue a person.

CMPD teaches officers to pull and immediately release the Taser trigger to deliver a five-second shock. Officers may repeatedly pull the trigger in extreme circumstances when necessary to control a suspect. Holding down the trigger violates department policy.

Police said they're reviewing their Taser policies.

In 2005, after reports raised questions about Taser safety, CMPD prohibited prolonged shocks because they appeared to increase the risk for respiratory failure, Miller said.

Unlike some police departments, CMPD does not limit how many times an officer can shock a suspect, although it encourages officers to minimize their use of force.

Officer Dawson told investigators that he held down the trigger because the shock did not subdue Turner. Despite commands to stop, police said, Turner stepped toward the officer then walked past him.

“He didn't think he was getting the full energy so he held it,” Miller said. “He was afraid if he undid it, Turner would be violent and possibly harm the store manager or himself.”

Turner's death was the first Taser-related fatality in the CMPD's history. It happened during a three-month period earlier this year when police also shot five suspects with firearms – killing one and wounding four. Not since the fall of 1998 had police used deadly force as frequently.

Officers used Tasers about 100 times in both 2005 and 2006.

Surveillance video from the Food Lion shows Turner at the customer service desk, knocking over a display, then throwing an umbrella. Turner then moves closer to a store manager and employee, at one point raising his arm and pointing at the manager. A customer at the desk pushes her child away from the confrontation.

Officer Dawson is shown walking through the front door, and seconds later, carrying what appears to be his Taser. Dawson approaches Turner with the Taser pointed at him. Turner takes a step toward the officer, then continues to walk past him. It's unclear from the video when Turner is shocked, but police say it happened as Turner stepped toward the officer.

Turner then walks toward the front door, followed closely by Dawson, whose Taser remains attached to Turner.

Both then walk out of the camera's view.

Mecklenburg District Attorney Peter Gilchrist said Wednesday his office made the right decision in not prosecuting Dawson.

“The fact that the police department has decided he violated policies does not make the actions of the officer a criminal offense,” Gilchrist said.

Turner family attorney Ken Harris disputes prosecutors' claim that the use of force was appropriate. Harris said Wednesday he's had concerns about how long Turner was shocked.

“We're happy that this information, including the videotape, has been released to the public,” said Harris, who is considering a lawsuit over the death. “We look forward to a jury interpreting the videotape.”

Turner's mother says her son came home for lunch on March 20 and told her he'd stolen a couple of Hot Pockets from the store. Tammy Fontenot said she told her son to return to the store and admit what he'd done.

Turner returned to work after lunch, and a supervisor told him to remove a lollipop from his mouth and tuck in his shirt. The teenager began cursing, prosecutors said.

The supervisor contacted the store manager to inform him what was happening. She told him she felt threatened and was going to call police.

Here's what police said happened then:

Dawson responded to a call around 1:15 p.m. about a disturbance at the Food Lion on Prosperity Church Road.

When Dawson arrived, he saw Turner throwing objects at the store manager and yelling. The officer also saw Turner walk toward store personnel in a threatening manner.

Dawson ordered Turner to stop. But Turner turned and started to walk toward Dawson, police said. That's when Dawson discharged his Taser.

Turner continued to walk while he was being shocked, then grabbed a small store rack and threw it across the floor.

“Officer Dawson held the trigger of the Taser down until Mr. Turner fell to the ground,” the police statement said. “The continuous duration of this discharge was approximately 37 seconds.”

Police said Dawson then ordered Turner to put his hands behind his back. When the teen didn't comply, Dawson discharged his Taser again, this time shocking the teen for five seconds.

Police Chief Rodney Monroe pledged in a statement Wednesday that he will release as much information as possible about such cases of public interest, as long as it doesn't interfere with an investigation or violate personnel laws.


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Sources: The State, McClatchy Newspapers, WCNC, AP, Sex Laws.org, Black Political Thought, Google Maps